A public opinion poll conducted by research firm Bisconti Research found that those who felt they were better informed about nuclear power were also more likely to be in favor of its use in the United States.
Bisconti's Spring 2016 survey found that a majority of Americans favor nuclear power. Sixty-seven percent favored nuclear energy, while 29 percent were opposed, the firm said, indicating that “favorability to nuclear energy has remained in the mid to upper sixties for most of the past decade.”
However, the majority of opinions is somewhere near the middle – neither strongly in favor nor strongly opposed. “At the two ends, 26 percent strongly favor nuclear energy and 11 percent strongly oppose,” the survey found. “In the middle, nearly two-thirds are fence sitters – that is, they somewhat favor nuclear energy, somewhat oppose, or are unsure.”
While those who felt better informed were more likely to support nuclear energy, only a small minority indicated they felt they were “very well informed” about the industry, Bisconti said. In the Spring 2016 survey, 21 percent indicated they felt very well informed, while 42 percent indicated they felt “somewhat well informed.” An additional 26 percent feel “not too well informed,” while the bottom 11 percent indicated they felt “not well informed at all.”
That said, “Favorability to nuclear energy is closely correlated with the degree to which people feel informed about the topic,” Bisconti said.
Of those who feel “very well informed,” 54 percent strongly favor nuclear energy, 22 percent somewhat favored nuclear energy, while 7 percent were somewhat opposed and 18 percent strongly opposed.
The percentage of those strongly favoring nuclear energy drops to 26 percent among those who feel “somewhat well informed,” and 11 percent among those who feel “not too well informed.” Those strongly in favor drops to 7 percent among those who feel “not well informed at all.”
The numbers also shift among those in the middle. Among those “somewhat well informed,” 51 percent are somewhat in favor of nuclear energy. Among those “not too well informed,” that dropps to 49 percent. Among those “not well informed at all,” that drops to 29 percent.
“It is especially significant that, among those who feel very well informed about nuclear energy, three times as many strongly favor nuclear energy (54 percent) as strongly oppose (18 percent)," the report said.
The repercussions could be important, because “those who feel very well informed on an issue are more confident in their views and more likely to become activists," said the research firm.